DECIDEDLY MEDIÆVAL.
I was in the Garden Pavilion only the other morning with one of my sons,
teaching him how to use his weapons. Suddenly he pointed at a
bullet-mark not in any of the targets, but in the wainscoting above and
a little to the right of them.
"There's a bad shot, father!" he cried.
"But you don't know what he aimed at," I objected.
"At a target, of course!"
"But perhaps his target was differently placed. That shot is many years
old."
"Anyhow he missed what he shot at, or he wouldn't have struck the
wainscoting," the boy persisted.
"Why, yes, he missed, but he may have missed only by a hair's breadth."
"Do you know who fired the shot?"
"Yes. It's a strange story; perhaps you shall hear it some day."
This little scene recalled with vividness my memories of the morning
when Wetter and I met in the Pavilion. I had hit on a good plan. I was
known to practise often, and Wetter was given to the same pursuit.
Indeed we had shot against one another in club matches before now, and
come off very equal. It was not likely that suspicion would be aroused;
the very early hour was our vulnerable point, but this could not be
helped. Had we come later, we should have been pestered by attendants
and markers. In other respects the ordinary arrangements for matches
suited our purpose well. There was a target at either end of the
Pavilion; each man chose an end to fire from. When he had discharged his
bullet he retreated to a little shelter, of which there were two at each
end, one for the shooter, one for the marker. His opponent then did the
like. To account for what was meant to occur this morning we had only to
make it believed that one of us, Wetter or I, as chance willed, had
incautiously stepped out of his shelter at the wrong time. To render
this plausible we agreed to pretend a misunderstanding; the man hit was
to have thought that his opponent would fire only one shot, the man who
escaped would express deepest regret, but maintain that the arrangement
had been for two successive shots. I had very little doubt that these
arrangements for baffling inconvenient inquiry would prove thoroughly
adequate. For the rest, I made up a packet for Varvilliers containing a
present for Coralie. To make any other preparations would not have been
fair to Wetter; for my death, if it happened, must seem absolutely
accidental. After all I did not feel such confidence in my value to the
country, or in my wisdom, as to desire to leave my last will and
testament. Victoria would do very well, no doubt. It was odd to think of
her sleeping peacefully in the opposite wing, without an idea that
anything touching her fortunes was being done in the Garden Pavilion.
The external scene is clearer to me than the picture of my own mind;
yet there also I can trace the main outlines. The heat of passion was
past; I was no longer in the stir of rivalry. I knew that it was through
and because of Coralie that I had come into this position, and that
Wetter had done what he had. But the thought of her, and the desire to
conquer him in her favour or punish him for seeking it, were no more my
foremost impulses. I can claim no feeling so natural, so instinctive, so
pardonable because so natural. I was angry with him. I had waived my
rank and set aside my state; that still I was eager and glad to do; but
I waived them and forgot them, because only thus could I avenge them. By
his challenge, his insult, his defiance, he had violated what I held
sacred in me, and almost the only thing that I held sacred. I hear now
the Englishman's mocking epithet in my ears--"Mediæval!" I did not hear
it then. Wetter had insulted the King; the King would cease to be the
King to punish him. I had this cool anger in my heart when I went with
Vohrenlorf to the Pavilion at six in the morning. But half the
bitterness of it was due to my own inmost knowledge that my acts had led
him on; that, if he had committed the sacrilege, my hand had flung open
the doors of the shrine. He had defaced the image; it was I who had
taught him no more to reverence it. Because he reminded me of this, I
thought that I hated him, as we took our way to the Pavilion.
Men who have been through many of these affairs have told me that on the
first occasion they felt some fear, or, at least, an excitement so great
as to seem like fear. I recollect no such feeling. This was not because
I was especially courageous or more indifferent to death than other men;
it did not occur to me that I should be killed or even hit. Coralie had
a strong presentiment of evil for some one; I had none for myself. If
she were right, it seemed to me that Wetter's fate must prove her so.
The other pair came punctually. They had encountered some slight
obstacle in entering. The sentry had been seized with scruples, and the
officer of the guard had been summoned. Varvilliers pleaded an express
appointment with me, and the officer, surprised but conquered, had let
them pass. All this Varvilliers told us in his usual airy manner, Wetter
sitting apart the while. The clock struck a quarter past six.
"We waste time, Vicomte," said I, and I sat down in a chair, leaving him
to make the arrangements with Vohrenlorf, or, rather, to announce them
to Vohrenlorf; for my second was unmanned by the business, and had quite
lost his composure.
Varvilliers had just measured the distance and settled the places where
we were to stand, when there was a step outside and a knock at the door.
The seconds looked round. Wetter sprang to his feet.
"Open it, Vohrenlorf. We're doing nothing secret," I said, with a smile.
Varvilliers nodded approvingly.
"But our visitor mustn't stay long," he observed.
"It's one of my privileges to send people away," said I reassuringly.
The door opened, and in walked William Adolphus! He was in riding boots
and carried a whip. It was his custom to rise early for a gallop in the
park; he must have heard our voices as he passed by.
"You're early," he cried in boisterous merriment. "What's afoot?"
"Why, a wager between Wetter and myself," I answered. "A match."
"What for?"
"Upon my word, we haven't fixed the stakes; it's pure rivalry." Then I
began to laugh. "How odd you should come!" I said. Indeed it seemed
strange, for, if the whole affair were traced back to the egg, William
Adolphus' flirtation was the origin of it. His appearance had the
appropriateness of an ironically witty comment on some hot-headed folly.
"I've half a mind to stay and see you shoot."
"By no means; you'd make me nervous."
"I'll bet a hundred marks on Wetter."
"I take you there," said I. "But I hear your horse being walked up and
down outside."
"Yes, he's there."
"It's a chilly morning. Don't keep him waiting. Vohrenlorf, see the
Prince mounted."
Varvilliers laughed; even Wetter smiled.
"All right, you needn't be in such a hurry. I'm going," said William
Adolphus.
"But I'm glad you came," said I, laughing again, and, as the door closed
behind him, I added, "Most lucky! His evidence will be invaluable.
Fortune is with us, Varvilliers."
"A man of ready wit is with us, sire," he answered in his pleasant
courtliness; then, as we heard William Adolphus trotting off and
Vohrenlorf came back, he went on, "All is ready."
Wetter seemed absolutely composed. I marvelled at his composure. No
doubt his ideas were not mediæval, as mine were; yet it seemed strange
to me that he should fire at me as he would at any other man. I did not
then understand the despair which underlay his iron quietness. I was set
thinking, though, the next moment, when Varvilliers stepped forward
holding a pair of single-barrelled pistols, Wetter opened his lips for
the first time:
"Why not revolvers?"
"If we allow a second shot, Vohrenlorf and I will reload. Pardon, sire,
have you any other weapon about you?"
I answered "No," and Wetter made the same reply to a like question. But
I had seen a sudden change pass over his face when he was told that
revolvers were not to be used. An idea entered my head and would not be
dislodged; a man might fire more calmly at the King if he were resolved
in no case to outlive the King. I said nothing; what could I say or do
now? But strangely and suddenly, under the influence of this thought, my
anger died away. I saw with his eyes and felt with his heart; I saw how
he stood, and I knew that I had brought him to that pass. Was it strange
that he fired at me without faltering, although I might be ten times a
king? It seemed to me almost just that he should kill me. Varvilliers
would not give him a revolver. Did Varvilliers also suspect? I think his
fear was rather of our extreme rage against one another. It occurred to
me that I would not aim at my opponent. But then I thought I had no
right to act thus; it would make matters worse for him if I fell.
Besides my own life did not seem to me a thing to be thrown away
lightly.
Varvilliers produced another pair of pistols, similar to those which
Wetter and I now held. He loaded both, fired them into the targets, and
placed one on a shelf at either end of the room.
"Those are the first shots. You understand? The gentleman who is hit
made the mistake of not expecting a second shot. Now, sire--if you are
ready?"
We took up our positions, each six feet in front of the targets; a
bullet which hit me would, but for the interruption, have struck on, or
directly above or below, the outermost target on the right-hand side.
Vohrenlorf and Varvilliers stood on either side of the room; the latter
was to give the signal. Indeed Vohrenlorf could not have been trusted
with such a duty.
"I shall say fire, one--two--three," said Varvilliers. "You will both
fire before the last word is ended. Are you ready?"
We signified our assent. Wetter was pale, but apparently quite
collected. I was very much alive to every impression. For example, I
noticed a man's tread outside and the tune that he was whistling. I
lifted my pistol and took aim. At that moment I meant to kill Wetter if
I could, and I thought that I could. It did not even occur to me that I
was in any serious danger myself.
"Are you ready? Now!" said Varvilliers, in his smooth distinct tones.
I looked straight into Wetter's eyes, and I did not doubt that I could
send my bullet as straight as my glance. I felt that I saw before me a
dead man.
I am unable to give even to myself any satisfactory explanation of my
next act. It was done under an impulse so instantaneous, so single, so
simply powerful as to defy analysis. I have the consciousness of one
thought or feeling only; but even to myself it seems absurd and
inadequate to account for what I did. Yet I can give no other reason. I
had no relenting toward Wetter as a man, as companion, or as former
friend. I was not remorseful about my own part in the affair, and did
not now accuse myself of being responsible for the quarrel.
Suddenly--and I record the feeling for what it is worth--it came upon me
that I must not kill him. Why? That Englishman would laugh. I am
inclined to laugh myself. Well, I was only twenty-four, and, moreover,
in a state of high tension, fresh from great emotional excitement and a
sleepless night. Because he was one of my people, and great among them;
because he might do great things for them; because he was one of those
given to me, for whom I was answerable. I can get no nearer to it--it
was something of that kind. Some conception of it may be gained if I say
that I have never signed a death-warrant without a struggle against a
somewhat similar feeling. Whatever it was, it resulted in an inability
to try to kill him. As Varvilliers' voice pronounced in clear quiet
tones "Fire!" I shifted my aim gently and imperceptibly. If it were true
now, the ball would pass his ear and bury itself in the wainscoting
behind.
"One--two--three!"
I fired on the last word; I saw the smoke of Wetter's pistol; he stood
motionless. In an instant I felt myself hit. I was amazed. I was hit,
shot through the body. I staggered, and should have fallen; Vohrenlorf
ran to me, and I sank back in his arms. My head was clear, and I saw the
order of events that followed. Varvilliers also had started toward me.
Suddenly he stopped. Wetter had rushed across the room toward where the
cartridges lay. Varvilliers sprang upon him and caught him resolutely by
the shoulders. I myself cried, "Stop him!" even as I sank on the
ground, my shoulders propped up against the wall. Before more could
happen there was a loud rapping at the door, and the handle was twisted
furiously. Somebody cried, "Go for a doctor!" Then came Varvilliers'
voice, "You go, Wetter. We trust you to go. Who the devil's at the
door?" He sprang across and opened it. Vohrenlorf was asking me in
trembling whispers where I was hit. I paid no heed to him. The door
opened, and to my amazement William Adolphus ran in, closely followed by
Coralie Mansoni. I was past speaking, soon I became past consciousness.
The last I remember is that Coralie was kneeling by me, Vohrenlorf still
supporting me, the rest standing round. Yet, though I did not know it, I
spoke. Varvilliers told me afterward that I muttered, "An accident--my
fault." I heard what they said, though I was unconscious of speaking
myself.
"It wasn't!" Coralie cried.
"On my honour, a pure accident," said Varvilliers.
Then the whole scene faded away from me.
[Illustration: "On my honour, a pure accident," said Varvilliers.]
There can be no doubt that it was Wetter's intention to take his own
life in case he hit me. I had discovered this resolution; Varvilliers
was not behind me. Had revolvers been employed no power could have
hindered Wetter from carrying out his purpose. But Varvilliers had
prevented this, and by despatching my antagonist to seek medical aid had
put him on his _parole_. He returned with one of my surgeons in a very
short space of time; perhaps the desperate fit had passed then, perhaps
he had come to feel that he must face the consequences of his act. I
know that Varvilliers spoke to him again and very urgently, obtaining at
last a pledge from him that he would at least await the verdict on my
case. But when he had fired at me he had considered himself as a man in
any event doomed to death. We are strangely at fault in our forecasts of
fate. He was uninjured; I, who had been confident of escaping unhurt,
lay on the edge between life and death. My presentiment was signally
falsified.
But we must be just even to superstitions. I had my presentiment, and it
was wrong. Coralie Mansoni also had hers, and most unfortunately, for
from hers came the sole danger that threatened the success of our scheme
and impaired the perfection of our pretences. Had William Adolphus been
a man of strong will no harm would have been done; but he was as wax in
her hands. When he left us, he went on his ride, and in the park he met
her, driving herself in her little pony-chaise. She had been quite
unable to sleep, she said, and had been tempted by the fine morning; had
he seen the King? William Adolphus, without a thought of indiscretion,
described how he had found us in the Pavilion. In an instant her mind,
inflamed by her fancies and readily suspicious, was on fire with fear;
fear turned to an instinctive certainty. My brother-in-law was amazed at
her agitation; she swept away his opposition; he must take her to the
Pavilion, or she would go alone; nothing else would serve. But he should
have held her where she was by main force rather than bring her; the one
fatal thing was to allow her to appear in the affair at all. He could
not withstand her; he did not know the extent of his error, but he knew
that to bring her within the precincts of the palace was a sore
indiscretion. She overbore him; they burst together into the room, as I
have described. And, being there, she would not go, and was seen by two
doctors, by Baptiste, and by the shooting-master, who came to carry me
to my apartments. Then at last Varvilliers prevailed on her to allow
herself to be smuggled out through the back gate of the gardens, and
himself took her to her house in a condition of great distress and
collapse. She, at least, was not deceived by the pretence of an
accident.
Were other people? I feel myself on doubtful ground. What was said at
the moment I know only by hearsay, for I was incapable of attending to
anything for three months. There was an enormous amount of gossip and of
talk; there were, I think, many hints and smiles; there were hundreds of
people who knew the truth, but were careful not to submit their versions
to the test of publicity. But what could be done? Varvilliers and
Vohrenlorf, men of unblemished honour, were firm in their assertions and
unshaken in their evidence; Wetter's obvious consternation at the event
was invoked as confirmatory evidence. As soon as I was able to give my
account, my voice and authority were cast decisively into the same
scale. Men might suspect and women might gossip. Nothing could be done;
and as soon as the first stir was over, Wetter left for a tour abroad
without any opposition, and carrying with him a good deal of sympathy.
The King's own carelessness was of course responsible, but it was very
terrible for Wetter, so they said.
But a point remains; how did we account for Coralie and the presence of
Coralie? In fact we never did account very satisfactorily for Coralie.
We sacrificed--or rather Varvilliers and Vohrenlorf sacrificed--William
Adolphus without hesitation, saying truly enough that he had brought
her. Victoria was extremely angry and my brother-in-law much aggrieved.
But I must admit that the story met with very hesitating acceptance.
Some denied it altogether, the more clear-sighted perceived that, even
were its truth allowed, it presupposed more than it told. There was
something in the background; that was what everybody thought. What? That
was what nobody knew. However I am afraid that there were quite enough
suspicion and enough talk to justify my English friend in his remark
about the one or two scandals which attached themselves to my name. I
beg leave to hope that his charitable expression of surprise that there
were not more may be considered equally well justified.
While I lay ill, Princess Heinrich was the dominant influence in the
administration of affairs. When I recovered, I found that Coralie
Mansoni was no longer playing in Forstadt, and had left the town some
weeks before. I put no questions to my mother. I also found that
Varvilliers had resigned his official position in the French service,
and remained in Forstadt as a private person. Here again, at
Varvilliers' own request, I put no questions to my mother. Finally I was
informed that the Bartensteins had offered themselves for a visit. Again
I put no questions to my mother. I determined, however, not to be laid
on the shelf again for three months, if I could help it.
Such is the history of my secret duel with Wetter and of my acquaintance
with Coralie Mansoni up to the date of that occurrence. Such also is the
story of that apparently very bad shot which my little son found in the
wainscoting of the Garden Pavilion. But it was not such a very bad shot;
not everybody would have gone so near and yet made sure of not hitting.